Incoming First Year Student Information

Welcome to the Department of Student Transitions! We are excited you are starting your college journey with us. We want to share some information with you about why you may be taking courses in our department.

First, let’s talk about the terms transitional, developmental, and remedial. We call our courses transitional because they help you transition to college-level work with appropriate support. However, you may be familiar with the words remedial and developmental that likewise indicate a need for additional instruction. 

No matter what term you are most familiar with, do know that the courses that we offer are intentionally designed to provide you with just-in-time review of skills that will help you succeed in your college-level courses.

Effective fall 2022, UCA will requires any student who has a 21 or below ACT score (or equivalent) in math or reading, or an 18 or below ACT score (or equivalent) in English be placed in a corequisite transitional course. See table below for more detailed placement information.


If you would like to complete the requirement for a transitional course before you come to UCA, here are some options for you.

  • Take the appropriate Next-Generation Accuplacer test by scheduling an appointment with UCA’s Testing Center or a testing center nearest you.  For more information about the tests and for sample test questions visit the University Testing website.
  • Retake the ACT or SAT and have your scores sent to UCA Admissions.
  • Complete a standalone or corequisite transitional course at another institution nearest you before you enroll at UCA.

For more information about UCA corequisite courses visit our “What is Corequisite?” page.